3 Types of Unauthorized Access to Your Business

When you hear the words “unauthorized access,” what do you think of? If you’re like most business owners, you probably imagine someone breaking into your business, or perhaps a customer going into a staff-only area.

However, there are numerous ways that unauthorized access to your business can take place that are more subtle than a straightforward break-in. No matter what your line of business, security is vital, and unauthorized access in any form can compromise security in the following ways:

Stolen inventory

Business data accessed or stolen

Risk to staff and personnel

Client/customer data accessed or stolen

Network security accessed and compromised

Security systems disabled

Damage to physical property

And more…

The security of your business and your clients is paramount to your success, and preventing unauthorized access is a key step to protecting your company. One of the best ways to improve security is through the usage of business security camera systems, which offer multiple monitoring capabilities. Let’s look at three ways that unauthorized access to your business might happen and how installing a commercial security camera system could help.

Tailgating

Tailgating occurs when an unauthorized person follows an authorized individual through a door to avoid having to present credentials. This often happens when a stranger or someone who is not part of the business follows an employee or staff person into the building. Particularly in buildings or interior areas where an access card or credentials are required to gain access, tailgating is one of the prime ways that malicious individuals will try to gain unauthorized access. Once they’ve gained access, they may try to steal inventory, compromise client information, or otherwise cause harm to the business.

Having a business security camera system makes it easy for you to ensure that tailgating doesn’t happen. You can use the surveillance cameras to monitor doors and sensitive access points so that you can address any tailgating incidents. Business security cameras will allow you to track down anyone who does manage to gain unauthorized access, along with reminding employees and staff about the importance of not allowing tailgating in the first place. Even if you don’t have the capacity to watch the cameras 24/7, you can still use them to conduct access point monitoring during short sprints of time to get an idea of how tailgating is impacting your business.

Fraudulent Use of Access Cards

If your company uses access cards or other digital passes to grant access to restricted areas, fraudulent use of those access cards is practically guaranteed to be an issue. Fraudulent use might include people sharing credentials or access cards, unauthorized individuals stealing credentials from authorized users, and other tactics that enable unauthorized access.

Business security camera systems give you the ability to monitor how credentials and access cards are being used to ensure that no fraudulent use is occurring. For example, if you are concerned that people might be sharing credentials, you can compare the security camera footage to the access log to verify that individuals are using their own credentials and not sharing with other people. If there are concerns about missing credentials or access cards, you can keep an eye on the situation with a surveillance camera system to make sure that no unauthorized access takes place.

Door Propping

Propping a door or window open might seem old school, but it remains one of the most effective ways that unauthorized people gain access to restricted buildings or spaces. The door propping might be unintentional, like when an employee is trying to get a little fresh air into the building, but it might also be intentionally done to give access to unauthorized individuals. Door propping might be easily seen if door stops are used, but if somebody tapes the latch or locking mechanism it might not be as visually obvious.

Business security cameras are a great insurance policy against door propping. They obviously allow you to keep tabs on who is coming and going from your business and whether there is any suspicious activity at certain doors, but surveillance cameras are also a great deterrent to door propping even before it happens. If people know that doors are being monitored by camera, they are far less likely to attempt to prop a door open or allow unauthorized access since they know that they are almost certain to be caught.

Conclusion

Unauthorized access to your business is a very real security concern. Whether it’s via tailgating, fraudulent access, door propping, or another method, you need to be able to discourage unauthorized access and hold offenders accountable if it happens. Business security cameras are a great tool to help prevent unauthorized access; they offer 24/7 monitoring and are phenomenal crime deterrents. If you have questions about how best to utilize commercial security cameras to prevent unauthorized access to your business, a reputable security camera installer can help ensure that your needs are met!

About the Author

As dataNet IT, our experts specialize in working with clients to design tailored security solutions. If you’ve got questions about whether a surveillance camera system is best for you, feel free to reach out to us today and we’re happy to work with you! If you wish to be contacted about an install, please fill out this form.